Tales of Xillia: Salvation
by Malchezzar
Summary: Seven years have past since the events of Tales of Xillia. Jude, Milla, Gaius and Muzét must come together once again to save their world, this time from two separate calamities, one natural and the other manufactured. As their journey unfolds, they come to realize that the forces they encounter have been linked across time and space, and now their world is the final battlefield.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I Don't own any rights to Tales of Xillia, its Sequel, or Tales of Symphonia.**

This story is set 7 years after the events of the original_ Tales of Xillia_. It is HIGHLY RECOMENDED that you have played both _Tales of Xillia, _and _Tales of Symphonia. _This story also contains bits and pieces of information from _Tales of Xillia 2_. But seeing as I don't speak a lick of Japenese, some of my information pertaining to Xillia 2 may be slightly incorrect. Also, be wary that this Story will contain spoilers about the true ending in Xillia 2. While I use background information and characters from _Tales of Xillia, _and _Tales of Symphonia, _I have not included spoilers as to their endings that I am aware of.

Also note that I have made this story compatible with **but not dependent on** Rina Aria's _The Lost Treasure_ story. As her story is not yet complete, I do not know if the ending will conflict with the setting for my story. As such, I have made references to an event on a train that is dated 4 years after the events of _Tales of Xillia, _I do not however go into detail on the incident, so you as the reader can decide if you want to use the information in her story to fill in the specifics of that event or not. For now, I will be writing this story in a way that does not require _The Lost Treasure _as a prequel.

**Special thanks to The Melanarchist for helping me with regards to editing and story plot!**

Also note that my chapters are relatively short. I use chapter breaks to differentiate between viewpoints, as I only show one character's thoughts at a time. While they are short, there will be plenty chapters to come, and I will be updating them more frequently than usual!

Now with all that said, I hope you enjoy! I would share specifics regarding the details of the Symphonia crossover, but I fear that it will give away the plot if I do. So you _Tales of Symphonia _fans sit tight! Know that this is primarily a _Tales of Xillia _story however!

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**Chapter 1**

Milla sighed deeply as she let herself fall onto her back in the grassy plains of the spirit world. Well, grassy plains didn't mean they were actually there, but it made no difference from her point of view. The spirit world reflected what she wanted it to be, and a pleasant spring day seemed to content the other spirits just as much as herself. Being Maxwell, of course, she couldn't afford to contemplate trivial things like this. The cause of her turmoil was the worsening instability of the mana flow. If she didn't know any better, she would say that spyrix technologies were still in use, yet that was impossible. She and Jude had seen to it that every spyrix was destroyed and that those who required spyrix to live an ordinary life were given a spyrite as supplement. Yet the supply of mana was steadily decreasing.

She hoisted herself up out of the grass and dusted herself off. Thinking about it wouldn't help the situation, she needed to investigate. After all, who would know more about the current situation than Jude? He was the leading authority on Spyrites and the researcher who found Origin. Origin was one of the three founding spirits along with Maxwell, her predecessor and creator, and Khronos, the Spirit of Time. She smiled to herself, it has been almost three years since the last time she had seen Jude. Her duties as Lord of the Spirits had prevented her from visiting the Human World as of late, so any excuse that allowed her to visit him was greatly appreciated, regardless of the circumstances. Of course the decline of mana was disturbing, but she couldn't help but be excited at the thought of visiting the Human World again.

Her face flushed bright red when she realized that she was thinking more about Jude than the matter at hand. _There I go again letting my human-like emotions get in the way. _ That was unacceptable, as lord of the spirits, she had a duty to preserve all life, spirit and human alike, and she couldn't allow her emotions to cause her to falter. Suddenly a Voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Thinking about Jude again?"

Startled, Milla spun around to see Muzét floating behind her. "Don't sneak up on me like that Muzét!" she yelled. She tried to prevent herself from blushing out of embarrassment, but to no avail.

"So you were thinking about Jude!" Muzét said with a smile upon reading Milla's flustered expression. "After all, he is the only thing that has ever distracted you like this in the past."

Milla let out a sigh. _No use trying to fool Muzét, she is my sister after all… _As lord of the spirits, Milla could sense the presence of any spirit nearby because of their mana signatures. _How distracted was I? That the presence of my own sister went unnoticed…_

Muzét twirled around excitedly, "were you thinking about his Birthday? It's coming up next month you know."

Now Milla's face was as red as Efreet. _How could I have forgotten about that!? _While she had been unable to personally attend Jude's last few Birthdays, she had always tried in some way to make sure it was a special day for him. Her usual way of accomplishing this was anything from ensuring that it was a beautiful sunny day, or having Sylph take him flying, to sending Muzét to wish him well on her behalf. _Focus! I don't have time to think about Jude right now! Focus on the mana crisis; I still have a month to ponder what I want to do for Jude's birthday._

As lord of the spirits, the cost of materializing Milla's human form is a considerable amount of mana, which is the primary reason why she hasn't visited the human world in recent years. And even though she knew that taking physical form would potentially accelerate the crisis, she knew that if she waited any longer she would be unable to make the transformation at all, and she would be stuck watching the world combat the crisis on its own. _I am many things, but I am not the type to stand by and watch as the world collapses on itself. _Having set her mind to a course of action, she turned back to Muzét, surprised to see the look of concern on her face. After all, she hadn't said a word this whole time.

"Milla, are you alright" she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine Muzét, thank you. I have decided to visit the Human World in order to investigate the problem with the mana flow. Look after the Spirit World in my absence."

Muzét was shocked. "A-Are you sure!? You don't think that Jude and Gaius can figure it out on their own?" She knew that Milla was well aware of the risks involved with taking human form during a time like this.

Milla shook her head. "The source of this mana shortage is hidden from me, meaning that someone or something very powerful is deliberately concealing it from me. Even if Jude and Gaius could locate the source of the calamity, I don't like the idea of them taking on such a foe without me at their side."

Muzét nodded hesitantly. "As you wish Milla, I shall look after the Spirit World while you investigate." She paused a moment before saying "and please say Hi to Gaius for me".

Milla smiled. _I almost forgot that Muzét feels the same way for Gaius that I feel for Jude._

Clearing her thoughts, Milla began channeling the Spirit Arte that would transport her to her shrine in Nia Khera. _Looks like it's time for another adventure._ She thought with a smile.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

When Milla opened her eyes, she was sitting in the center of her shrine, or house as she had begun to call it. _All of my time spent with humans is starting to make me think like them. _She thought with a smirk. And that wasn't such a bad thing, at least in her opinion. Some of the other spirits might think down upon humans as lesser beings, but Milla understood that humans were essential for a spirit's survival just as much as spirits were essential to humans. After all, her best friends were human.

When she was on her feet, the door burst open and the fresh air of the human world filled her senses. Energized, she walked into the sunshine and looked down upon her home village of Nia Khera. _Good to be back._

As she enjoyed the pleasant breeze, the aroma of the plants, and the warmth of the sunshine, she thought to herself. _Humans are so lucky. _She wanted nothing more than to sit down and enjoy these sensations forever, but knew there was work that needed to be done. _I need to find Jude._ _But where could he be? Back in Elympios, working on spyrites? Or is he somewhere in Rieze Maxia… _As she pondered the possibilities, Sylph appeared before her.

"Welcome back to the Human World, Lord Maxwell" she said with a smile. "How can I be of assistance?"

Milla smiled at her friend. "Thank you Sylph, I have to find Jude, any idea where he would be?"

Sylph practically burst out laughing "Who would know where he is better than you? You gave him a necklace seven years ago that allows you to track his mana signature."

Milla blushed; _there I go forgetting the important things again. _She knew that Jude would never take that necklace off - no matter what. She had given it to him as a keepsake when he had helped her through her paralysis all those years ago.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and focused her mind on the necklace. It was far away, but she could tell it was in Rieze Maxia, barely. And it was moving, faster than is possible on foot. _He is on a transport, probably crossing the border of Elympios and Rieze Maxia._

She only knew of one such transport, and it was a Train built in Trigleph (the capital city of Elympios) that traveled to Fenmont (the capital of Rieze Maxia). King Gaius wanted to have control over any transportation into his country, always putting the lives of his citizens first. She already suspected what the answer was to her question, but she asked Sylph anyway. "Have they constructed any alternative means of transportation across the border besides the train?"

Sylph shook her head. "No they haven't, Lord Maxwell. King Gaius won't allow it."

Milla nodded an affirmative. So now she knew where Jude was and where he was going. He was headed to Fenmont to meet with King Gaius, probably to discuss the mana shortage. _They make a good team._ She thought to herself. They were the only two people she had met in all her years that possessed the willpower to set their own destinies. In fact, it was because of Jude's will that she was alive to become Lord of the Spirits in the first place. _He defied Maxwell and proved that the souls of Humans are just as strong as that of spirits, if not stronger._ There was no doubt in her mind, if the secret to saving the world lied in the hearts of men, Jude and Gaius would be the ones to save it.

Milla looked up at the sun. _Under better circumstances I would rather walk there as a human, but we are short on time._ "Alright, well Jude is headed to Fenmont then, and so are we."

"As you wish, Lord Maxwell"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Jude stared at the landscape as it rolled by through the window of the train car. It still baffled him that they were able to travel this way. In recent years they had completely wiped out the use of spyrix across the land, and now spyrites were being used in their place. This train was fully powered by spyrites, making it an efficient form of transportation, and an environmentally safe one. As he watched the world roll by and the people walk through the train, he couldn't help but be astonished that 7 years ago spyrites didn't even exist. _To think it has been 7 years._

Jude's chest began to warm up, and he looked down to see a glow beneath his coat. It was the necklace that Milla had given him. He knew that it glowed whenever she accessed its mana signature. _Milla is looking for me? _The thought both alarmed and excited him. It had been 3 years since he had last seen her. But the circumstances were far from ordinary during their last meeting. _I was on a train like this one last time too._ He thought with alarm. Was this train going to crash? He hardly wanted to experience that again, yet the train had already passed the rocky mountain border, which is the most dangerous part of the journey. _Maybe she was just thinking of me…_ as much as he wanted it to be true, he doubted that she would access the necklace's mana for anything short of an emergency.

He remained alert for the remainder of the trip, so that he could react to any emergency that developed. _If something happens, I'll be ready._

He let out a sigh of relief when the train arrived in Fenmont. _Maybe there was no emergency after all._ He never expected that the thing he cherished most could give him such a fright.

As he stepped onto the train platform, he was so surprised that his mouth fell open and remained that way for a good ten seconds. Standing before him, waiting for him at the train station, was Milla Maxwell.

He was so surprised he was barely able to stutter out one word. "M-M-Milla!?" he said as he walked up to her.

She smiled at him, dismissed his fumbling attempts at composure and replied "Jude, nice to see you too."

Jude blushed, well aware of his failure to mask his emotions. _She is always so hard to read, I wonder if she enjoys being so mysterious. _"So, why are you here Milla? Is something wrong?" He was aware of an imbalance of mana focused somewhere between Rieze Maxia and Elympios, and he had actually come to discuss it with Gaius, but he hardly thought it was important enough to merit an appearance from Milla.

She stared at him, looking deep into his eyes, as if she was prodding his mind for the answer she wanted. _She can't read minds can she!? _He thought to himself.

"My reasons are my own" she said, "but one of them is the same reason you are here today. The mana in both Elympios and Rieze Maxia is steadily declining."

Jude nodded. "I was unaware that it was also affecting Rieze Maxia, but now that you mention it the mana does seem to be lacking." He put his index finger to his temple. "I was able to vaguely pinpoint the location of the disruption back in my lab in Elympios, but I don't have the slightest idea what could be causing it." She seemed interested to hear that he had a specific location in mind, so he quickly added "It seems to be located in the mountain range between regions, but I was fairly certain that that area was unpopulated."

She cocked her head, deep in thought. "Interesting, maybe some Exodus agents or other Elympians who opposed the use of spyrites escaped into the mountains and are continuing to use them there. We should talk to Gaius and get his perspective on this."

Jude nodded in agreement. _That's Milla for you, always straight to business._ He was conflicted on what to feel about this, for deep down he knew that he wouldn't love her if she was anything but herself. It did sadden him to think that there would never a time or place for his feelings, as she would always have her duties as Lord of the Spirits. _Oh well, at least I get to see her again._

She noticed that he hadn't said anything for a while, so she broke the silence. "Jude, what's on your mind?"

He searched every corner of his mind in a fraction of a second to find something to supplement her curiosity; he knew he would need to speak with her eventually about his feelings, but now wasn't the right time. So instead he started talking about his spyrite research and the complexities of creating them.

He could tell that she knew he wasn't actually telling her what was on his mind, but he was relieved when she didn't press the matter. _Still, I hate lying to her like that._

They continued talking back and forth about spyrites and the possibilities of an underground spyrix organization until they reached the palace.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Milla's heart lifted when she saw Jude step off of the train. Seeing him always made her happy, though she doubted he knew that. She let out a smirk when she saw the dumbfounded look on his face. One thing she had learned in her years of human interaction is that often times people's expressions will tell you things they themselves would not. And Jude was hopeless when it came to controlling his expressions. Maybe that was why she thought it was so fun to read him.

After exchanging pleasantries with Jude and obtaining the information he had on the crisis, they decided to get Gaius's perspective on the subject. While they were walking, Milla couldn't help but notice something was bothering Jude. He appeared emotionally conflicted; she could see it in his face. When she finally decided to break the silence and ask him what was wrong, he lied to her. She _knew_ he lied to her. _Why would he do that? After all these years does he not trust me? Is there something he doesn't want me to know? _Though it disturbed her greatly, she decided not to press the matter. Jude would tell her what was on his mind eventually if it truly bothered him, she was certain of it.

When they reached the palace doors, they found Rowen waiting for them. It's remarkable how strong his resolve is, to be faithfully serving his country even at the age of 69.

Rowen's face lit up when he saw Milla approaching with Jude. "Lady Milla! What a pleasure it is to see you again! I did not think I would live to see your next reunion."

Milla blushed slightly, for Rowen had put emphasis on the fact that it was a reunion for her and Jude, not his own. "Nice to see you again Rowen, It's nice to see you still as lively as ever."

He smiled, "It will take more than age to defeat this old tactician!" he said. "What brings you to the realm of Humanity this time?"

Milla and Jude filled him in on the mana deprivation as they walked to Gaius's main audience chamber.

"Oh my" Rowen exclaimed when they concluded their story. "That does appear to be quite a dilemma. And here I was thinking we were almost to the 'happily ever after' chapters of our lives."

Milla smiled at Rowen's remark; she had read that line in plenty of books during her years as a human. It seemed like every story had to have 'happily ever after' at the end of it, as if the authors were obliged to write it in order to satisfy their readers. _I never thought much about that line before._ She thought to herself. _The way Rowen worded that it seems like all of humanity is dependent on a 'happily ever after' in their lives._

Rowen seemed aware that he had lost Milla's attention, so he began a conversation with Jude about his studies on Origin and the creation of spyrites.

_How does he do that? He flawlessly shifted conversations to prevent Jude from noticing I was being discourteous. _She smiled to herself. _Rowen always had a talented tongue. Maybe I can learn a thing or two about that._

When they reached the door to the audience chamber, Rowen entered. Through the door they could hear Gaius's voice. "Who is it Rowen? I have the matter of this mana crisis to deal with, send them away."

Rowen answered without a hitch "I believe these are the people you will want to see regarding that matter." Suddenly the door began to open. "And I don't think they require an introduction."

When Gaius saw us he showed a flicker of surprise, but covered it up almost instantaneously. _That is one thing he does better than Jude, _Milla thought to herself with a smile.

"Lord Maxwell, I did not expect to see you at my door" he said while bowing "and Jude Mathis! Good to see you again, my friend. Rowen was right; you are just the people I wanted to see."

Together the four of them went into another room where they could talk more privately. Once they were all settled, Jude and Milla began to share the information they had about the diminishing supply of mana. When they were finished, Gaius began to speak.

"This calamity is widespread; I have reports that it has been felt even at the farthest reaches of Rieze Maxia. It may be much weaker than I remember it, but the power it exerts causes the same sensation as the Lance of Kresnik. But what kind of machine could affect both Elympios and Rieze Maxia evenly across its entirety? No doubt such a machine is caused by Spyrix, but its area of effect is unthinkable.

Milla shuddered at the thought. _A Spyrix weapon designed to drain the entirety of the human world all at once._

"That explains the mountainous location" Jude said. "It's the highest point on the planet, and it's exactly centered between the regions as well."

"If you are correct, then we now have the location of this weapon, so we can mobilize our troops and neutralize it." Gaius stated. "I will prepare an assault, though if the location is indeed that deep in the mountains, it may take weeks to reach it with an army." He turned to Milla "Do we have that much time?" he asked.

Milla nodded hesitantly. "At the rate it is draining mana, we should have enough mana to survive for another 3 months or so, but I dread the thought of that machine staying active for that long."

Gaius nodded. "Then we have work to do."

As he stood up to make preparations for the assault, Milla heard a voice in her head. She immediately recognized it as Muzét. She had just enough time to tell Gaius "Wait" before Muzét burst into the room.

"Milla! Milla! We have a huge problem!" Muzét said frantically. "The-There is a comet on a collision course for our planet! I didn't know what to do so I-I came to find you."

When she realized that Gaius was in the room along with Jude and Rowen, Muzét blushed out of embarrassment. "I-I thought you all should know..."

Gaius and Jude were both alarmed by this turn of events. How were they to deal with both problems at once!? Furthermore, how were they to deal with a comet in the first place? Slowly all eyes turned to Milla.

Her heart went cold when she noticed everyone staring at her. How was she supposed to know what to do? She may be Lord of the Spirits, but she was still only age 27. How was she supposed to know how to deal with a comet? As she searched her mind for answers, she asked Muzét "How much time do we have?"

"A-About 2 weeks at most." She said "What should we do!? What _can_ we do?"

Milla pondered the situation for a few minutes, but no matter what she thought of, she just wasn't knowledgeable enough to find a solution. She wasn't an old enough spirit. _That's it! _She thought; _we need to ask Older Spirits for help!"_

She turned to Jude. It was time to pay Origin and Khronos a visit. "Looks like we are going to the land of Canaan" she said.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Jude shuddered when Milla mentioned the land of Canaan. They had met a young man by the name of Ludger 6 years ago, and helped him on his quest to eliminate 'Time Factors' that threatened the existence of Elympios. The final destination of that journey had been the Land of Canaan, where they met Khronos and Origin. In the end, Ludger sacrificed himself to save Elle, who was a time factor herself and his future daughter. The thought of returning to the place where his friend had died did not sit well in his mind.

_We have no choice._ He thought to himself. _They may be the only spirits powerful enough to help us avert this catastrophe._

He slowly nodded an affirmative to Milla. "Well we don't have much time, so we should prepare and be off. Don't want that comet crashing down on our heads before we get there."

"Alright" Milla replied. "Gaius, we will leave you and Muzét to deal with the machine in the mountains. With any luck, we can avert both of these crises at the same time."

Jude noted a flicker of happiness on Muzét's face at the mention of her working with Gaius. _When this is over, maybe we will finally be able to create the world we all envisioned, one where spirits and humans can live together in harmony. _He knew that he and Gaius would never be truly happy until that vision became a reality.

He felt a tap on his shoulder. "Time to get going" Milla said. As they headed for the door, Gaius stopped them. "Good Luck you two" he said.

"We're all going to need it" Jude replied.

As they walked out of the palace, He couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. _What if we can't stop the comet? _He couldn't bear the thought of failing his friends. _Everyone is counting on us… We cannot afford to fail, or the world will suffer the consequences. _It was times like these where he was glad to have Milla at his side. He knew that no matter what, she would keep him on the right path. Her determination and willpower would never falter, and above all else she would complete the mission. _I have to stay strong, _he thought. _I have to be just as strong as Milla, and I have to hold her to her path, just as she would do for me._

Once they were outside, Jude turned to Milla. "The entrance to the Land of Canaan is just off the coast of Elympios, so are we planning on using the train to get there? Or did you have something else in mind?"

Milla pondered the thought for a moment. "Well, I doubt that Sylph could fly us both there, especially with that machine active in the mountains." She cocked her head to the side, "looks like we will have to use more mundane versions of transportation."

As they were about to set off in the direction of the train station, Jude heard his name.

"JUDE! HEY JUDE IS THAT YOU!?" He turned around and saw someone running towards him from down the street. He couldn't quite make out who it was because of Fenmont's perpetual night spirit clime. _Who could it be? The voice is very familiar…_

Whoever it was, they were sprinting towards Jude and Milla. "WHO IS THAT WITH YOU?" they said.

When the person was finally visible, Jude could see it was Leia, his childhood friend. "Leia!? What are you doing in Fenmont?" He said.

When she finally reached them she leaned over, exhausted. "w-we heard from Gaius… that you would b-be in town for a little while." She was almost completely out of breath.

"Are you alright? Maybe you should sit down and rest." Jude said with a worried expression.

"I'm fine Jude, really. Just excited to see you is all." Leia replied. When she finally was able to compose herself, she looked up and was surprised to see Milla standing there. "M-Milla!? We didn't expect to see you here!" she said very excitedly.

Jude just realized that she had said 'we heard from Gaius'. "Leia, who is with you?" He asked as he looked around.

Almost instantly after the words came out of his mouth he spotted her companion. It was Alvin, and he looked similarly out of breath as he approached, as if he had been chasing Leia all across Rieze Maxia.

"W-Warn me next time you are about to go running off like that Leia, I can barely keep up with you nowadays." He said, trying to lower his heart rate. "Well look who it is! Mr. Big shot from the Spyrite Research facility!"

"Nice to see you too Alvin" Jude replied. "I wasn't aware that you and Leia have been spending time together."

Alvin put his hand to his forehead. "Yeah, who would have figured? But I can't complain." He gave Leia a smile. "Turns out I really like her, and so far she doesn't mind me too much."

Leia kicked Alvin's boot. "Alvin! There is an old friend here you are neglecting."

Alvin's smile faded away as he looked around. Milla was standing about 5 paces behind Jude, anxiously waiting for him to finish his meet and greet so they could be on their way. "Well! Well! Well! If it isn't the Lord of the Spirits herself!"

Milla stepped forward. "Alvin. Leia." She said, briefly nodding to each of them. She turned to Jude, "we really must be going Jude, and we are short on time as it is."

Jude lowered his head. Milla was right; he didn't have time for a reunion with Alvin and Leia right now.

"Whoa, what's the rush Milla? No time for a few old friends?" Alvin remarked with his usual laid back attitude.

Milla glared at him, evidently quite annoyed. "As a matter of fact, no we don't. There is a comet that is going to collide with our world and obliterate all life as we know it, and we have to reach the Land of Canaan before it impacts or you will all die. So no, we don't have time for a few old friends."

Jude was taken aback. Everything Milla said was true, yet he didn't expect her to be so cold to their friends.

"Ouch" Alvin said, clearly not expecting her outburst. "Well I suppose you two better get going then, nice to see you though."

Jude waved goodbye to Leia and Alvin, then followed Milla onto the train. _I'll catch up with them later, when this is all over._

Once Milla and Jude were onboard the train, Alvin turned to Leia, who was clearly ticked off at Alvin that he managed to make Milla explode in such a short time. "What did I do!?" He said putting his hands behind his head. "Always the cold shoulder when duty calls."

Leia smiled slightly. "Well that's Milla for you."

The two of them stayed in the station till the last car departed on the long journey to Trigleph.

Suddenly, Leia's eyes went wide when she realized what Milla had actually said during her outburst. "WAIT A MINUTE! DID SHE SAY A COMET WAS GONNA HIT US!?" She turned to Alvin and kicked him in the shin. "COME ON! WE"RE GONNA GO TALK TO GAIUS ABOUT THIS!"

Wincing in pain, Alvin yelped "Alright! Alright! Sheesh, what did I do this time?" Half limping, he followed Leia to the Palace.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Back in the palace, Gaius leaned over a table in his war room. On the table was a cartogram of the mountainous region between Rieze Maxia and Elympios. He had already told Rowen to prepare his troops to depart the next day. He was looking over the battle plan that Rowen had given him, and was making a few adjustments of his own. _Still, if Jude's information is correct, then there is no effective way to attack this location. If they have any amount of troops hiding there, they could hold out for weeks…_

He lost concentration for a moment as he could feel Muzét pacing behind him. _If you can call that pacing… she isn't even touching the ground. _Though he enjoyed her company, he didn't like it when she stared at him like this. _At least Milla knows that staring is impolite. _He sighed, Muzét had no way of knowing such things; she hasn't had much human contact apart from Jude and his companions.

He opened his mouth to say something of the matter, but quickly realized that it would only worry her more. "Muzét" he said when he realized she was still watching him, "Could you find Rowen for me? I would like to discuss this battle plan further with him."

"Of course Erston" Muzét said, as she quickly flew from the room.

He fought back his embarrassment as she used his real name. He only used his true name a couple times, and that was 6 years ago, back during the journey with Ludger and Elle. He had been attempting to disguise himself amongst the general population, so that he might gather information that he could use in order to protect his people. _She is the only one who still calls me that… _He thought to himself.

Returning his mind to the task at hand, he began to devise a second strategy that would involve attacking the machine from all sides. Though it would take considerably more time to set up, if they managed to get there in time, they might have a better chance of winning the battle. _Let's just hope that Milla and Jude succeed in stopping that comet, or all this won't matter at all._

All of the sudden he heard a loud banging on his door. _Who could this be!? No one is allowed past the audience chamber without an escort, and where are my guards! _He walked up to the door and yanked it open, prepared to yell at whoever was interrupting him. He was surprised to see Leia and Alvin there instead. _No wonder the guards didn't stop them…_ He thought to himself. He was getting so many unexpected visitors today.

"Leia? Alvin? What is the problem? Why have you disturbed me?" Gaius demanded.

Leia looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Hmm I don't know… there might just be… A GIANT COMET ABOUT TO CRASH DOWN ON OUR HEADS! I want to hear what you know of it!"

Gaius was shocked at how demanding she was. _This is outrageous! She can't talk to me like that! _Keeping his expression indifferent, he opened the door and allowed them to enter. "I take it you encountered Milla and Jude then." He said as he sat down. "How much did they tell you?"

Leia walked into the room and sat on the carpet, completely disregarding the many chairs around her. "Not much" she said, "Milla just said something about a comet that was going to destroy all life on our planet. She seemed very agitated."

Gaius closed his eyes, deciding exactly what he should tell them, if anything regarding the subject. "Truth be told, I know about as much as you" he said. "Apart from one minor detail, the impact will occur in roughly two weeks."

Leia's mouth fell open. Alvin's face also showed signs of disbelief. "Whoa, you're telling me that we are only finding this out now?" he said "No wonder Milla was on edge."

Gaius nodded. He was unsure whether or not he should inform them of the device that was hidden in the mountains at this time. _Milla and Jude would probably trust them if they were in my position…_

As if reading his thoughts, Leia chimed in, "What aren't you telling us Gaius? I can tell you are hiding something from us. Why?"

Gaius chuckled to himself. He must have let his expression slip. "There is also another matter, and the situation is equally as grave." He stood up and walked to the map with his battle plan marked on it. "There is a device located in the mountain range between regions, and it is draining mana from both Elympios and Rieze Maxia. To what end, we have no idea. All we know is that all the mana in this world will be drained dry in approximately three months time."

Leia's face went pale. "Y-You mean it's like the Lance of Kresnik!?" She stuttered.

Gaius nodded. "Yes, I do believe so. But I don't understand the purpose of draining both Elympios and Rieze Maxia- it doesn't add up." He shook his head. "Whoever they are or _whatever_ they are, they are threatening the lives of everyone in this world, and they must be stopped."

Leia nodded. "And who would we be if we sat by and watched this happen!?" She looked at Alvin. "Come on Alvin! We have to help stop it!"

Alvin groaned. It's not like he didn't like this world, he was quite fond of it actually. He was just finally getting used to the quiet life is all. "Well, the lady has spoken. How can we help?"

Gaius smiled to himself. _They make quite the match._

As he walked them from the room, Gaius gave Alvin a pat on the back, "Looks like you finally get to join my military after all."

Alvin let out a half smile. "Ha, lucky me…"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Milla entered their passenger car as the train passed Fort Gandala. The captain had assured her that the train would arrive in Trigleph on time. It would take approximately 6 hours to traverse the dense mountain range that separates the two countries. She spotted Jude sitting in their compartment, watching the landscape pass by through the window. He seemed distant, as if his mind was in some other world. As she approached, she tried to decipher his expression. _What could he be thinking about? _

Whatever the thought was, it faded as she approached. "How'd it go with the captain?" Jude asked.

"Very well, he expects we shall arrive in Trigleph without a delay" she replied.

"Well, that's good" he said. "Some pleasant news means a lot at a time like this."

She nodded. _Is that what's bothering him? Is he that worried about the comet? _While she understood the gravity of the situation, she didn't bother worrying about things she couldn't yet control. _He needs to trust that we will succeed. _"Jude, what's wrong? You haven't been yourself lately."

He looked at her for a moment, as if he was unsure how to answer. "It's just… so much has happened, I'm still trying to get a grasp on the situation."

She shook her head. "I know you better than that Jude, that's not the only reason." She looked at him ponderingly, "Have I done something to shake your trust in me? You seem to be withdrawn whenever we are alone."

Jude blushed slightly, "No, it's not that… It just seems like every time we meet there has to be some cataclysmic event that threatens the world. Don't you ever take a vacation?"

She cocked her head. "Are you saying that you would rather not save the world?" She had previously thought that Jude enjoyed adventure. _What has changed?_

Jude sighed, "No, that's not what I meant." He appeared frustrated with himself, as if he didn't know what to say.

She frowned slightly, she hated seeing Jude conflicted. But if he didn't share his thoughts with her how was she supposed to help him? _Another complication of human emotions- they don't willingly share information that they still question themselves. _"Well then, what did you mean exactly? You know that even after all these years; I still cannot comprehend the full complexity of human emotions. If you want to say something, then say it."

His eyes suddenly locked with hers for a long moment, and she felt a cold chill run down her spine. His normally warm gaze had turned to ice. _Maybe now I will get some answers, _she thought.

"Why is it that you never once came to visit without some catastrophe? I know you have duties as the Lord of the Spirits and all, but have you ever thought about how I've felt all these years..? The only times I get to see you are when the world is at stake. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?"

She hesitated for a moment, trying to think of a way to respond to his outburst. She was aware that he had become emotionally connected to her over the years, but had not expected this. _He doesn't understand…_ All these years she had performed her duties as Lord of the Spirits, eagerly awaiting opportunities to visit this world. She needed justification. She needed a _reason_ to come. She didn't think the world would approve of her using such a large quantity of mana to manifest herself as a human for any other reason than to save it. But she could not ignore Jude, not after he had shared his feelings with her.

"Jude… I-I…" She sensed it a moment before the impact, and had just enough time to grab on to Jude before the train was thrown from the tracks. The metal creaked and groaned as the train was forced into a roll down the side of the mountain. _No! It can't end like this! _"JUDE!" she managed to shout before the train hit the ground and all went black.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

When Jude awoke, he found himself in what appeared to be a small stone dome. _What happened? _He put his index finger to his head. The last thing he remembered was talking to Milla on the train, then his vision blurred and he lost consciousness.

As he sat up, he realized he was soaking wet. _That's odd. _As one of the people who had helped set up the train system between Elympios and Rieze Maxia, he knew the path the tracks take decently well. _There isn't any water along that route… How did I get wet? _Then he realized that the stone dome was completely sealed. _How did I get in here!?_

As he stood up, he began to examine the walls more closely. _This stone is strangely smooth… There is no way this was involved in the crash._ As he reached out to touch it, the walls opened up and the stone receded into the earth. Before him, was the Great Spirit Gnome.

"Look who's finally awake." Gnome said as he spun on his stone sphere. "At least you don't seem broken this time."

Jude shuddered as he remembered the train incident from three years ago. "Yea, I'm doing better this time around. Apparently I'm getting used to this sort of thing."

Gnome giggled, "Hey Undine, Jude's finally awake."

"Thank goodness" said Undine as she floated into view. "You must be confused as to what happened."

Jude nodded. "All I remember is talking to Milla…" _Where is she? _He looked at Undine with alarm.

Noting his expression, Undine reassured him. "Now, now Milla is fine. She woke up about an hour ago and is with Efreet and Sylph looking for people in the wreckage. She left me and Gnome to watch after you."

Jude let out a sigh of relief. _That's Milla for you, always keeping busy. _He remembered how hard it was to keep her down, even when she was paralyzed below the waist. He looked to Undine. "I take it you're the reason I'm soaking wet?" He asked.

Undine laughed in amusement. "But of course! I used water to break your fall. Would you rather have broken bones right now?"

He laughed, "No, no. I much prefer this outcome, thanks. Now we should probably go help Milla, I doubt she is happy that our mission is being delayed."

It didn't take long to find Milla. After all, she had been using Efreet's fire to burn through sections of the train. When she spotted Jude coming she smiled at him. _That's odd; I didn't think she would be happy after encountering such a delay. What was the phrase she used to say? 'I have no time for waxing sentimental?' _Regardless, it did make him happy to see her smile.

"How long was I out?" He asked.

"Roughly three hours according to the four. I was unconscious for two myself, so it's hard to tell." She replied.

"Do you know what happened to the train?" He said as he looked at the debris scattered over the mountainside. "All I remember was us talking, and then I blacked out."

She nodded an affirmative. "I sensed it the moment before the impact, it appears that monsters attacked the train and violently shoved the rear cars over the edge."

He scratched his head in bewilderment. "That's odd; the monsters in this area have never been that aggressive. They don't even venture near the tracks usually."

Milla closed her eyes, deep in thought. "Perhaps, they are acting strangely because of the loss of mana in this area. After all, the device is in this region, so the decline would be more significant here than in other areas."

He nodded in agreement. "That would be a logical conclusion." As he looked around he noticed Sylph wasn't with her. "Where is Sylph?"

"I sent Sylph to inform Gaius that the train has been derailed." She said. "They will need to send soldiers to escort these civilians home."

"Ah" Jude said with a frown. "Gaius won't like that; it will delay his attack plan."

She looked at him. "While that is true, he has a duty to the people of his country. He must put the immediate safety of them first."

He nodded. _She's right, as usual. _"So what's our plan now?" he asked. "We lost a fair amount of time and we don't have a way to get to Trigleph easily from here."

"Since when did you assume that anything we do would be easy?" She said with a smirk. "If we follow the tracks, we should eventually reach Elympios correct?"

"Yes, but it could take us anywhere from twelve hours to a day to traverse that distance, depending on how far the train traveled before the incident." He said, grimacing at the thought of walking for a full day through the rugged terrain and desert air that separated them from Trigleph. "I don't think we have the rations to take on such a journey."

"We will have to make do." She said as she leapt to the ground. "Besides, I don't see another option. Do you see an alternative Jude?"

He shook his head in defeat. Milla was never one to hesitate.

"Well then, we know what we must do." Milla said as she began making her way back up the rocky slope. "I shall leave the four here to protect these people until Gaius's forces arrive. We should get going, it's a long journey ahead of us and we are short on time."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Alvin leaned against the wall in the War Room, fidgeting uncomfortably in his military uniform. _Why did they make me wear this hideous thing..? _He missed his usual rugged outfit and characteristic scarf.Sure saving the world was a noble thing to do, but he couldn't help feeling that he was getting too old for this sort of thing. After all, saving it just once was tiring enough. _Well, they say third times the charm right? Besides, if Rowen is still fighting I guess I have no excuse._

Gaius was briefing the rest of his generals on the battle strategy that he and Rowen had devised. "And we will set up three camps here, along this ridge." He said, gesturing to the map. "We will rest there overnight and prepare our strike the next day. It's a lengthy walk from our destination, but we can't risk alerting our foes to our presence. The element of surprise is our greatest ally."

Alvin had heard this all before, but it couldn't hurt to hear it again. He was a general after all. _A general… _He couldn't believe that Gaius had not only recruited him on the spot, but had promoted him to a general as well. _They must be short on soldiers for this battle; either that or he figures I'll cause less trouble if I'm the one giving orders._

He chuckled to himself. He had never been good at taking orders, which is probably why he chose to be a mercenary all those years ago.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door bursting open. "Gaius! Gaius! We have a problem!" Muzét said as she flew into the room.

Gaius looked up in alarm. "What is it Muzét? What happened?" He clearly didn't enjoy the idea of having any more problems on his plate.

"Come! Come! You should hear it from Sylph." She said, gliding out of the room as swiftly as she had entered.

Gaius seemed puzzled; he didn't expect the Great Spirit of Wind to pay him a visit today. As he strode from the room, he gestured for Alvin to join him. _Guess I'm his right hand man now. _He thought to himself.

When they entered the main audience chamber, they noticed Sylph floating back and forth in the middle of the room, anxiously waiting for them.

"Sylph! What's wrong? Why aren't you with Milla and Jude?" Gaius asked in a rather demanding tone.

Sylph glared at Gaius for a long moment, clearly not pleased with his aggressive tone. "Milla sent me to inform you that the train was attacked" he said. "The passengers will require your assistance."

Gaius lowered his head. "Who… would dare attack my people!?" He looked back at Sylph. "What else do you know?"

"The attack appears to have been caused by the local monsters" Sylph answered. "Milla and Efreet were searching the wreckage for survivors when I left."

Gaius turned his back to Sylph, pondering the situation. "So Milla and Jude are alright, then." He said. "I will send a squadron of my best soldiers to escort the passengers back to Fenmont."

Gaius looked to Alvin. _Here we go… _he thought to himself with a sigh. "Let me guess. You want me to lead the search party?"

Gaius nodded. "Correct. With Sylph's guidance, you should be able to reach the train within a days' time. Your squadron can rejoin our forces at the camp site after you have completed your task."

Alvin hesitantly nodded an affirmative. "I'll need some time to get ready then." He said as he turned to Sylph. "How far did you say the train made it before the attack?"

Sylph crossed his arms. "I didn't. The wreck occurred just outside the boarder of Rieze Maxia." He said.

"Great…" Alvin said with a grimace. "So they managed to make it into the mountains. That's going to be quite the hike."

"And we're totally ready for it!"

Startled, Alvin turned to see Leia burst into the chamber. _Figures… _he thought with a smile. "Leia, I wasn't planning on taking you with me this time."

"Oh really?" she said, crossing her arms. "Well, last time I checked, you were drafted into the military." She looked past Alvin to Gaius. "And military personnel have to follow orders! Gaius! Tell Alvin I'm coming along!"

Gaius chuckled. "Alvin, take Leia with you. Besides, she is one of the best healers we have."

Alvin sighed in defeat. "Fine, fine, you can come. But you better not embarrass me in front of my men! I am a General now after all."

Leia laughed. "Fine, whatever you say _General_."

As they strode from the room, Alvin heard Muzét ask Gaius; "How did you know that Jude was alright? Sylph only mentioned Milla."

"Come now Muzét, we both know that Milla would never let any harm come to Jude, not while she still had strength left."


	10. Chapter 10

I know I don't usually do Author Notes, but I thought I would mention a few things. First of all, I updated some incorrect information in the first paragraph of Chapter 5, so I would recommend rereading that paragraph if you want accurate info regarding Xillia 2. Secondly, it is slightly difficult to get people to view this story, as it is a crossover, so any help you guys could give me as far as recommending this to other Xillia fans and/or directing people to it would be much appreciated! And lastly, I'd like to give you a heads up that this chapter is significantly longer than the other chapters I have written thus far, so let me know if you like this length better! Obviously the chapters will get longer as more action begins to take place, so be expecting that! Now on to the story!

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Jude let out an exasperated sigh; they had been walking for four hours straight, with nothing but the desert sun beating down on them. _Why can nothing ever go as planned?_ If the train hadn't crashed, they would easily have made it to Trigleph about an hour ago.

Milla glanced at him, "Jude, are you alright?" She said, noting his expression.

"Yea, I'm fine." He said, looking up at the sky. "Just remind me never to ride a train again."

Milla smirked. "Isn't it still the safest form of transportation between Elympios and Rieze Maxia?"

Jude smiled. "Heh, you're no help at all." Still, he did feel a little better. "Any idea how far we are from Trigleph?"

Milla shook her head. "In any case, knowing the distance is irrelevant; we must traverse it either way." Then she raised an eyebrow at Jude. "And shouldn't I be the one asking you that question?"

"I suppose so" Jude replied. She was right of course; he had helped with the planning for the railway system. Unfortunately, all he had seen was a schematic. _Still, I should be able to identify something… _ He began looking around for any type of landmark, anything that could give him a hint to their location.

A few minutes later, he noticed a series of caves in the mountainside ahead. _Could those be..? _He quickened his pace, eager to see if his hypothesis was correct.

Noticing his burst of enthusiasm, Milla chased after him. "Jude? What's going on?"

"I think…" Jude said as he entered the cave mouth. "These might be the Wellrock Caves." He walked deeper into the cave and began feeling the walls.

"Wellrock? Hm, humans pick the strangest names. What makes them different from any other caves?" Milla said, cocking her head.

"Yes, they are!" Jude said excitedly, "these caves are within Wellrock Mountain, one of the few mountains along the border that is known to have a water reservoir within it. You can tell from the moisture on the walls." He smiled at Milla. "We only have knowledge of these caves because the workers stumbled into them during the railway construction."

"Interesting" Milla said as she examined the wall. "How exactly do these caves help us?"

"Well, I know where we are now." Jude said as he put his index finger to his temple. "The good news is we are almost out of the mountains. However, I estimate we are still about three hours hike from Trigleph."

"Hmm, so there is still a long way to go." Milla said, folding her arms. "I believe the phrase you humans use for this situation is something like 'we aren't out of the woods yet.'" She gave Jude a questioning look. "Is that correct?"

Jude chuckled slightly. "Yes, that's correct. Did you read that in a book?"

"Why yes actually." Milla replied quite proudly.

"And what context was the phrase used in?" Jude asked, crossing his arms. He already had a faint suspicion of what her answer would be.

Milla's expression changed from exuberant to quizzical as she pondered the question. "Actually, there was no context, it was a book filled with common phrases and sayings; all it gave was a vague meaning for each one."

Jude smiled, that had been what he was expecting. If the book had given any context to the situation, Milla wouldn't have asked for closure. Now he wanted to have a bit of fun. "Well, the proper context is in the statement itself, which is why it wouldn't be quite fitting for our current situation." He teased as he gestured to the surrounding cave walls.

Milla put her hand to her chin, clearly oblivious to his playful tone. "Hmm, so that phrase is quite literal then…"

Jude managed to suppress his amusement and set off to find water in the cave. It didn't take long to find; about thirty paces into the cave there was a small pool of crystal clear water on a rocky ledge near the wall. When he was done refilling their canteens, he made his way back to the mouth of the cave. He was surprised to find Milla standing in the same position he had left her in, deep in thought.

"What's the matter Milla?" He asked with a concerned look on his face.

"Oh… Nothing, I was just trying to think of a more appropriate phrase to describe our situation." She seemed genuinely troubled. "So far I am unable to come up with much of anything."

Now Jude felt guilty. He had just been trying to have a bit of fun, but Milla hadn't caught on to it. "Uh… Milla, you were right the first time… I was just joking with you."

She glared at Jude. "Confusing me is supposed to be funny?"

Uh-oh; now he was in trouble. She had taken the lighthearted joke entirely the wrong way. Before he could muster up a response however, Milla let out a laugh. "If that's your idea of a joke, I'm afraid your comical skills are almost as bad as mine." She said with a smile.

Jude sighed in relief. At least she wasn't angry about it, and he had gotten her to laugh, which was always a plus. "Yea… I suppose that joke wasn't that funny anyway…" He set their canteens against the wall and pulled two blankets out of his travel pack. He handed one to Milla. "Anyways, it's getting late; we should set up camp for the night. Can you get a fire going? You're much better with fire artes than I am."

She nodded and crouched down in the center of the cave. Trees in Elympios were scarce, so whenever they passed one, they had made sure to pick up a few branches. Nights in the desert were quite cold as well, so they didn't want to be caught unprepared. She pulled out the small pile of sticks and branches they had accumulated thus far. A slight frown creased her lips when she realized how few they had collected. There was barely enough wood to last them the night.

Jude noticed her change in expression. "It will be alright. We will just have to find more tomorrow."

Milla nodded; after all, she didn't have time to worry about things beyond her control. She set the branches ablaze with her fireball arte, which cast deep shadows along the cave walls. Satisfied with her work, she set up her blanket alongside Jude's. "We should try to get some sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow."

Jude nodded. "Alright. Good night, Milla."

"Sweet dreams, Jude."

* * *

_They were running through the streets of Trigleph; he wasn't sure why they were running, but he and Milla were frantically barreling their way through the masses of people on the streets. Everyone seemed to be panicking for some reason; shouting and shoving each other out of the way. He heard Milla shout something back at him._

_"Hurry, Jude! We have to get to the Land of Canaan!"_

_As she completed her statement, there was an ominous rumbling noise followed by a bone-splitting sonic boom. Overhead, he could see the windows of the buildings beginning to crack. Were they too late? Was the world about to end? He almost tripped over an Elympian who had fallen down amongst the chaos. What was happening?_

_Another sonic boom rattled the city, much louder this time. He looked up to see a huge, flaming meteorite soaring through the sky. It appeared to be made of a strange type of crystal with a purplish hue. Was that the comet? He couldn't shake his terrible feeling of foreboding; that all of them were about to die._

_"Hurry! Jude!" Milla shouted at him._

_What were they supposed to do? He knew they couldn't make it. After all, the portal to the land of Canaan was in Maxbard, not Trigleph. There was no way they would reach it before the comet impacted the planet. Still, he knew he had to try. As he ran, he could feel his muscles failing; a sense of helplessness washed over him. They were too late. They had failed their world. Gaius, Muzét, Alvin, Leia… everyone was going to die… because he had failed._

_All the sudden, everything went silent. The only thing he could hear was his own heartbeat. He saw Milla stop in her tracks. As he neared her, she turned around and looked past him. There was a sad, distraught look on her face. He tried to call her name, but no words came. It was as if the air was sucked from his lungs. He slowly turned to view the chaotic scene behind them. He could see the smoke trail of the comet, which was well beyond Trigleph now. He watched in agony as he saw the explosion in the distance. In that moment, a flash of light purged all color from the world. As the explosion expanded, he gradually regained control of his vision. The gray hue of the bricks and buildings returned, only to be eliminated by the approaching inferno. He gazed on helplessly as the flames rolled across the landscape like a tsunami, incinerating everything in their path. He turned and grabbed Milla's arm, determined to pull her away from the maelstrom; yet she remained anchored in place. He tried to call her name once more, but still no sound came. He thought to himself over and over again, "It can't end like this! Not… like this…" Then the flames enveloped them and all went dark._

* * *

Jude gasped awake. The nightmare had been so vivid that he couldn't tear the vision from his mind. His pulse was racing, as if he had just ran for an hour. He looked over to Milla, who was still asleep. She looked serene and calm, as if she didn't have a care in the world. His gaze drifted from Milla as he began to survey the cave, he noticed a small trail of smoke rising from the cindered branches that had been their source of warmth during the night. _The fire must have just gone out. _He wasn't sure what time it was, but he was already awake, so he decided to get up and take a walk in the cave. He needed to put his mind at ease.

As he wandered through the cave, he tried to clear his mind. He knew Milla wouldn't like it if he was distracted during their journey. When he reached the spot where he had filled their canteens, he noticed there was still some water on the ledge. The icy water sent shivers down his spine as he washed his face with it. _That's better. _With his mind refocused, he turned to head back towards the cave entrance. Before he could take a step, he heard a sound similar to that of a boulder impacting the ground. He spun around to see an Angry Tortoise looming in the cave behind him. _I should have figured monsters would use this cave to escape the desert heat. _He smiled, he may not like to fight, but physical exertion was one of the best ways to clear his mind. He drew his gauntlets and waited for the Tortoise to make his move. He didn't really fantasize killing a creature that didn't launch the first attack.

The Tortoise let out a roar and stomped the ground, which caused a stalagmite to erupt from the ground near Jude's feet. Jude sidestepped the attack and countered with a demon fist, causing the beast to flinch from the blow. _So his defenses aren't as tough as they look. _Jude thought with a smile. He broke into a run, narrowly dodging another stalagmite attack. As he closed in on the Tortoise, it lurched forward in an attempt to strike him with the many spikes on its shell. Jude back stepped and pivoted around the beast almost instantaneously. He was surprised when he almost impaled himself on the beast's rear spines; the Tortoise had clearly caught on to the maneuver. _Am I that rusty? _He thought to himself. It had been a while since his last taste of combat, so his skills had clearly deteriorated. He briefly channeled soaring vortex, then flew past the Tortoise, propelling it into the ceiling with wind spirits.

The ground shook as the beast was reunited with the ground. Jude noticed the ceiling begin to crack, and was barely able to back step in time to avoid the mass of stone that came crashing down. The Tortoise was not so lucky, and was buried beneath the debris. Jude frowned; he had wanted a simple battle, not to cause a cave in. _I'll have to be more mindful of my surroundings. _He glanced up at the ceiling again to make sure there wouldn't be any more falling stones. After a couple seconds, he was satisfied and headed for the cave entrance. Milla was probably awake now, considering the racket he had just made.


	11. Chapter 11

Hey Guys, another short author note here. Please keep spreading the story around! It is recieving more and more views so I thank you for that! Also please leave reviews! I much enjoy feedback and haven't gotten a whole lot of it, especially recently. Anyways here is the next chapter and I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Milla awoke with a shudder as an early morning breeze washed over her. She felt strangely cold. _The fire must not have lasted the night. _As she gathered her bearings, she realized that the fire wasn't the only thing missing; Jude was as well. _Where could he have gone? _It was still early morning, so she doubted he could have gotten far. When she managed to get to her feet, she felt her stomach grumble viciously. _I can't think of food right now! _She almost yelled at herself, _I have to find Jude._

Her thoughts were answered by a not-so-reassuring commotion deeper into the cave. _Jude!_ She hoped he hadn't gotten himself into mischief. She grabbed her sword from its resting place near the wall and hurried towards the sound of falling rocks.

As she dashed around a corner; she collided with Jude, causing them both to be thrown air-born for a few moments.

They hit the ground with a thud. "Ow! Milla! What's the hurry?" Jude said as he pulled a rock out from under his back.

Embarrassed at her lapse in concentration, she quickly scrambled off of Jude. "I heard a ruckus, so naturally I assumed you were in trouble." She said as she dusted herself off.

"Yeah. Sorry about that." Jude said, pulling himself to his feet. "I had a run in with a Tortoise- turns out my combat skills are a little rusty."

Milla cocked her head. "Rusty, huh? I was unaware that the human body had the ability to oxidize."

He laughed. "That's not what I meant. Of course the human body can't rust."

"Ah, so it's just an expression then?" Milla said with a smile. "In any case, we can't have you being 'rusty', now can we?"

Jude smirked. "I suppose not." He said as he resumed walking towards their campsite. "We had better get going; I figure we can reach Helioborg Fortress before lunch."

Milla nodded in agreement. "Why are we stopping there? The portal to the Land of Canaan is in Maxbard right?" She didn't want to take any unnecessary detours as they were already running behind.

Jude shook his head. "Origin sealed the portal after our adventure six years ago. A slight dimensional scar is all that remains of it now." He explained, "I believe I can force that scar open with the dagger that was forged from Muzét's power."

"Hmm, interesting idea." Milla said, putting her hand to her chin. "So I take it you kept the dagger in your office then."

Jude nodded. "I've kept it safely locked away all these years. The power to tear through space and time should never be used lightly." He packed up his few belongings and grabbed his canteen. "Well, we should be off. We have a long day ahead of us."

"Agreed."

* * *

About two hours later, Jude and Milla arrived at the black steel doors of the Helioborg Fortress. Jude swiped his ID card on a scanner and the door creaked open.

"The Spyrite Laboratory is on the far side of the complex, and my office is on the second floor." Jude said.

"Lead on." Milla gestured towards the looming buildings of the fortress. She was quite relived to be back amongst civilization. Their long trek through the wilderness had been quite labor intensive and the barren highlands of Elympios had been littered with monsters. She noticed Jude's reflexes had indeed been slower than she remembered them, but he had regained much of his speed with each battle they fought.

"Alright. This way." Jude headed into the fortress, leading her down one alleyway to the next. Slowly, they wormed their way towards the spyrite research center.

"This is the largest Spyrite Laboratory in Elympios." Jude commented. It felt as if he was giving Milla a tour, which made him smile slightly. Of course she had been here before, but much had changed in recent years. "Ah, here we are."

They stopped in front of one of the larger buildings. And Jude swiped his ID card once more to gain entry. When they walked inside, Milla was quite pleased to see people busily going about their lives. Some were messing with complex machinery that she could not begin to discern the purpose of, while others were performing tests on lesser spyrites. She smirked slightly; this was just the kind of place she imagined Jude would be working in.

"Doctor Jude!"

Jude and Milla turned to see a young and quite ecstatic researcher approaching them. The woman was dressed in a white lab coat, was slightly taller than Milla, and had fiery, scarlet colored bangs that framed her face with vermilion tresses that were messily bound into a ponytail on the top of her head. Her skin looked remarkably soft and her eyes were a bright crimson that matched her hair. She appeared to be no more than 23 years of age, which made her slightly older than Jude.

Evidently Jude knew who she was, for he responded "Hello Cynthia, how have things been while I was away?"

Cynthia smiled brightly. "Quite productive actually, we managed to increase the compatibility rate between spyrites and their human counterparts by almost 10 percent." She directed them to a computer terminal and began pulling up info on their recent endeavors. "What brings you back so soon? I thought you were going to be gone for at least two weeks."

Jude faltered for a second. "Yeah… we had quite the turn of events. Anyway, I won't be here for long, I just needed to stop by and pick up a few things."

Cynthia nodded; still busy inputting information into the computer. "Here it is!" She said, and gestured for Jude to take a look. "These are our research logs from the past 5 days."

Jude sighed; as she clearly hadn't caught on to the whole 'we are short on time' tone he had been using.

Milla noticed his reluctance, "Go ahead Jude, we can spare a few minutes here."

He nodded a 'thank you' and began examining the readouts on the computer monitor, muttering to himself as he read.

Milla began examining a spyrite on a nearby table while she waited for Jude and Cynthia to finish. The creature was quite small and emitted a bright light from its fur, not to mention the strong mana influx that she could feel around it. They were quite extraordinary creations, and she couldn't help but marvel at the ingeniousness of humanity.

"Amazing!" She heard Jude exclaim when he concluded his analysis. "I can't believe that you were able to make so much progress in such a short time."

Cynthia laughed, "That's my job! I was actually wondering if I could begin experiments on a few of the greater spirit spyrites. I believe with the advancements we have made, we could potentially make them less dangerous to tether with."

Jude hesitated for a moment. "Hmm, greater sprit spyrites are a whole different story. Simply reviving one without proper precautions could be disastrous." He put his hand to his chin. "I would prefer to be around for this type of experiment, but considering the circumstances…"

Milla could see conflict play out on his face. She knew he wanted to make as much progress with spyrites as possible, but he also knew the risks involved with hasty experimentation. "Perhaps it would be wise to advise caution in this instance." She chimed in. "Perchance with a few Spirit channelers on standby and ample security precautions such an experiment could be attempted."

Jude nodded in agreement. "Yes, it would have to be a very secure location with multiple personnel on standby. Perhaps it would be best to begin with one of the more docile greater spirit spyrites we have uncovered recently, possibly Aska?"

Cynthia seemed put-out by the apparent lack of confidence that Jude had in her abilities, or at least that's how it appeared. "Alright… when can I begin?" She said with sigh.

"I'll have Aska delivered to your lab, you can begin tomorrow." Jude replied, effectively dismissing Cynthia.

She nodded and turned towards the door. Once she was out of earshot, Milla commented to Jude "She seemed disappointed."

Jude nodded with a sigh, "Yeah, she is always so zealous in her research. She makes remarkable progress in short periods of time, but I don't want her to make a dreadful mistake by advancing too hurriedly."

Milla followed Jude up the stairs and into his office, which was larger than she expected. In the center of the grey walled room there was a desk with a computer sitting on it, some writing utensils, a label that read 'Dr. Mathis' in bright gold lettering, and a black box that Milla assumed was a communications unit of some kind. There was a window to the left, which looked out over the expanse of Helioborg Fortress. On the right wall there was a vault that was the size of a small walk-in closet. She watched as Jude punched in some numbers into the keypad and put his hand to a scanner, causing the door to lurch open with a hiss.

Jude disappeared within for a few moments, and emerged with two items in hand: the dimensional dagger and a spyrite casing that she assumed contained Aska's spirit fossil. She had never met Aska before, as its' fossil had only been found in the last year. She wondered what kind of Spirit it was; so far she had been continuously surprised by the personalities of these ancient greater spirits.

Jude noticed her staring at the casing, and explained "We have found a total of four greater spirits' fossils throughout the entirety of our years researching spyrites. The first two were Celsius and Volt, and just recently we unearthed two more. We uncovered Shadow two years back and Aska most recently. We know they are greater spirits from our first attempts to tether with them, which proved ultimately unsuccessful. Shadow proved much harder to control and was barely contained, while Aska was much more compliant." He went over to his desk and pressed a button on the black box, which emitted a quiet buzzing sound.

Before long, there was a knock on Jude's door, and three uniformed guards came in. The first stepped up and politely asked, "What can we assist you with Doctor Mathis?"

Jude walked over to him and handed him the spyrite casing. "I need you to see to it that this is safely delivered to Cynthia's research lab, it must be kept under watch at all times, and could potentially be very dangerous."

"Yes sir." The guard answered, and then proceeded out of the room with his companions.

Jude turned to Milla. "Well, now that that's all taken care of we can be on our way. Are you hungry? We could stop for some lunch before departing towards Trigleph."

Milla smiled. "You know how much I enjoy human food Jude. Of course I wouldn't mind stopping for lunch."

Jude raised an eyebrow at her. "And here I thought it was only my cooking that you liked."

They both laughed for a moment before making their way out of the building and set a course for the nearest food vendor.


	12. Chapter 12

Hey Guys! I know this update is a little slow, but school is starting to get busier so I might take longer to write each chapter. Anyway please favorite and write a review! I appreciate any feedback you give me, and now on to the story!

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**Chapter 12**

The sun shone brightly in the afternoon sky, radiating heat down on Alvin's squadron of soldiers. They had embarked from Fort Gandala two hours prior stocked with fresh supplies and weapons for the journey to the crash site. Sylph was guiding them, and Alvin noted how impatient the spirit was. He couldn't really blame him; the soldiers were slow and cumbrous. He was just glad their mission was not a covert one, for these poor sods were incapable of performing such a task. He noticed Leia sulking beside him.

"Ugh, why is it so hot?" she let out an exasperated sigh. "And where is all the action? This doesn't even come close to comparing to our adventures all those years ago."

Alvin chuckled. "You expected this to be fun? Just remember you got yourself into this mess, I didn't want to bring you along."

"I only wanted to come because you refused to let me tag along in the first place." She scowled. "And how was I supposed to know this was going to be so _boring?_"

"Well, you could have asked." Alvin retorted with a smirk. "I wonder what Milla and Jude are up to right now."

Leia's eyes drifted to the sky as she pondered the possibilities. "I haven't a clue, but I bet it's more exciting than _this._"

Alvin surveyed their surroundings. It was true; this region of desert and mountains was extremely barren. Aside from the occasional withered tree, there was little to no vegetation, and the air was as dry as the ground beneath their feet. It was almost six o'clock, and if they didn't reach the train soon they would have to contend with monsters.

"Sylph, how much farther?" Alvin asked with a hint of nervousness creeping into his tone.

Sylph gave him an annoyed 'you're the reason this is taking so long in the first place' glare. "With the pace your _troops_ are holding at, it will take at least another two hours."

Leia let out another sigh. "Great… just great." She turned to the soldiers behind them. "Hurry up you lollygaggers! We have a schedule to keep!"

He could hear the men groan behind him. He had already been trying to push their pace earlier, but you can only make someone in a full set of armor go so fast.

At their current pace, they would be reaching the crash site at approximately the same time that the sun went down. The thought made him grimace. Deep shadows were already beginning to appear on the rocky landscape.

"We had better be on our guard then, monsters will be on the hunt soon, and from what we know of the accident they are much more aggressive than usual." He perched his broadsword on his shoulder, _I'll be ready._

As if on cue, a Veywind Eye leapt from a mountain ledge just above them and landed amidst the party. The impact caused a brief tremor and caused several of the soldiers to lose balance and fall to the ground. Alvin spun around and was barely able to leap in front of Leia and cast Guardian field before the insect's razor like claws impacted his shield. The brute force was almost enough to break his guard, but he managed to hold the beast at bay.

A couple of his men had regained their bearings and were now moving to attack the beast from its flank. _If I can just keep it distracted long enough. _He began charging his weapon in preparation for his next attack. He heard Leia's voice behind him as she began chanting a spirit arte.

"Barrier!" she shouted, and a layer of scale-like armor appeared over his own, strengthening his defense. He smiled; this was just what he needed.

His men had reached the monster's rear flank now, and had begun to attack it with spirit artes of their own. It discouraged him to see the beast swat them away with its pincer-like tail with relative ease. They hadn't even fazed the creature.

Alvin charged forth the instant the beast turned to deal with attackers from the side. Clenching his teeth as he prepared for his strike, Alvin launched himself at the insect, shouting "Tornado Drive!" as he performed an air-born spiral with his blade. The creature flinched visibly, clearly surprised by the attack, and returned its focus to him with a fiery anger in its eyes. _Now I have its attention. _He thought with a smirk.

He chained his artes together, casting Dark Radiance before he struck the ground. A giant fireball appeared on the end of his sword, which exploded in a flash of light upon contact with the beast. He figured that one of his most powerful artes would at least slow the creature down, but he was surprised when it immediately countered with a gust of wind from its monstrous wingspan. He was barely able to put up his guardian in time; and watched helplessly as four of his soldiers were not as lucky. The insect's wings released some kind of spore into the wind; which inflicted petrification upon contact with the skin of his men.

The sight alarmed Alvin, and he took a quick glance behind him to make sure that Leia had avoided the same fate. Sure enough, she had put up her own magical barrier and protected herself from the effects of the spores.

He heard a screeching sound behind him, and spun around to see the Mantis-like beast upon him once more. _How fast is this thing!?_ The monster was about to impale him with one of its razor sharp blades, when a column of air erupted from the ground beneath its feet. The cyclone grew in speed and ferocity, propelling the creature high into the sky. Alvin had to cover his eyes with his arm to prevent stray particles of sand from finding their way into his eyes. _Such a powerful arte! _He knew that Sylph was the only one present who was capable of such an arte, and it comforted him to think that he was fighting alongside them.

As the cyclone began to dissipate, he felt Leia's mana signature reaching out to him. He heard her voice within himself rather than behind him, as the wind was still roaring against his ears. _Sharpness!_ He felt his weapons become lighter, allowing him to swing them with relative ease, and noticed an orange glow along their edges. He linked with Leia's mana signature and lunged at the monster, which was now plummeting towards the ground. Leia appeared alongside him and began her assault as well.

The mantis struck the ground, sending a shockwave of sand and stone in all directions. Alvin had to divert his attention almost entirely to the fragments of debris flying towards him, frantically attempting to avoid the biggest shards of rock. He could feel Leia's presence to his right as she did the same. When the dust finally cleared, Alvin could see that the beast was already on its feet again. _How is that thing so resilient!? _Without hesitating, he pulled his pistol out of its holster and fired off three quick shots at the beast, which, thanks to Leia's artes, did some significant damage and caused the monster to let out a roar of pain.

Alvin didn't let it recover this time, and began his next strike almost immediately. Leia was at its flank and he could feel her mana grow more vibrant as she began attacking with her battle staff. He had become so accustomed to her mana signature that he could read her thoughts as if they were letters on a page, allowing him to match her strikes even though she was out of view. He didn't usually think of battle as a form of dance, but that was the only way he could describe what he was feeling right now. His sword gracefully matching pace with her staff as they relentlessly attacked the gigantic insect before them.

Alvin gradually noticed his sword returning to its customary weight. _Leia's arte must be wearing off soon. _He thought worriedly. They needed to finish this battle soon, but the creature showed no signs of fatigue. He brought up his sword to parry as a blade-like claw came down over his head. _It's now or never. _Alvin sent Leia a brief mental warning through their link before calling forth all his strength for a linked arte. "Impact Cross!" they yelled in unison. Their weapons began to emit a bright light, and then they charged through the monster's torso, ripping through it with ease. After emerging from the far side of the beast, Alvin put away his sword with a smirk. Surely no creature could have withstood such a blow; especially after the beating they had inflicted onto it beforehand. He had to admit though, that mantis had been one tough cookie.

All of the sudden, he heard a deafening roar behind him. He spun around and was bewildered to see the monster was still standing. And now Leia was directly in front of it. "Leia!" he yelled, redrawing his weapon. "Get back!"

She seemed to pay him no mind, and sidestepped as the beast's pincer-like jaws came down where she had been standing. She struck downwards on the monsters exoskeleton behind its head, lodging its pincers into the earth. Alvin could feel the ferocity of her mana spike up momentarily as she channeled her mana into one final arte. "Soulstroke Spin!" she yelled, spinning her staff vigorously as she cut through the creature once more. He watched in amazement as the mantis finally disintegrated into the ash-like substance that all monsters become upon death. Leia stood proudly over it; her staff still glowing with the richness of imbued mana.

He must have had a dumbfound look on his face, for Leia laughed when she saw him. "You seemed quite worried for a second there." she said with a smile. "Haven't you learned by now that I can take care of myself?"

Alvin put his hands behind his head and looked up at the sky. "I don't know if I'd call it that exactly… And that was no ordinary monster either."

She shook her head defiantly. "Nope, you were totally scared sick!" She crossed her arms, "Aren't you glad you brought me along now? That thing could have killed you if I wasn't here!"

He let out a chuckle. "Fine, you win- I was worried. But just for the record, I think I'm entitled to a little worry in situations like these." He surveyed the battle field, and noticed with a grimace that most of his men were either injured or petrified. He looked back to Leia. "Well looks like we are going to have to camp for the nigh. That battle set us behind schedule and we are in no condition to travel. I'll set up a fire, you should begin healing as many of them as you can."

Leia began to sulk briefly. "Ugh, as if I wasn't tired enough already… ok, ok I'll get started."

He watched her walk off towards the petrified soldiers before heading out to locate one of the scarce trees that dotted the landscape of the mountainous void between regions. There was a long night ahead of them, and he hoped that the train passengers could hold out one more night.


	13. Chapter 13

Hey Guys! Sorry for the slow Upload. School has been getting tougher lately, so I've been able to devote less and less time to this story. Don't you worry though! I'll finish this story no matter how long it takes! Anyway, This chapter is quite long, almost doubling the length of my last chapter. Please let me know if you see any typos and don't forget to favorite and leave a Review! :D

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**Chapter 13**

Leia awoke the next morning to find glaring rays of sunlight intruding upon her dreams. Last night she had the unpleasant experience of tending to the twelve soldiers that had been less fortunate during their encounter with the Veywind Eye. Most of their wounds had not been too serious, and she was glad she had been able to heal the most extensive damage. All that remained of their injuries were a couple bloody noises and a few stray scars. The process had drained nearly all of her mana, and had lingered into the early morning hours. She was surprised that Alvin had not awoken her at first light, for she was under the impression that their mission was time sensitive.

When her eyes had adjusted to the brightness, she noticed the sun was already high in the sky. _How long did I sleep!? _she thought with alarm. _I must have been more exhausted than I originally diagnosed. _

She pulled herself to her feet and surveyed their campsite. A couple of soldiers were sparring off to her left, while the others were sitting on a stone ledge spectating. She was relieved to see that they were already on their feet again. There was only one thing that was missing: Alvin. _Where could he be?_

As the question crossed her mind, she felt her stomach growl ferociously. It had been ages since her last meal, and she was not planning on extending that duration.

As she strode around the campsite, she kept an eye out for both food and Alvin, but much to her dismay was unable to find either. Just when she was about to give up and ask one of the soldiers for help, she caught scent of a fire some distance above her. The mere aroma of the spices was enough to put her into a trance-like state as she walked towards the source, and before she knew it, she had pulled herself onto a rocky outcropping that overlooked the rest of their campsite. Much to her relief, Alvin was sitting at a campfire before her, preparing a dish of Mabo Curry.

Her stomach let out another ferocious growl, which Alvin evidently heard. He looked up at her and smiled. "Good morning."

She sat down beside him, staring intently at the food. "You're… cooking?" she stated in astonishment.

Alvin let out a laugh. "And why is that so surprising? Am I not allowed to cook?"

She smirked at him. "It's not that, just I've rarely seen you cook much of anything. Honestly I wasn't sure you knew how."

Alvin put his hand to his forehead. "Ouch, you sure have little confidence in my abilities."

She crossed her arms, slightly flustered. "I have plenty of confidence in your abilities; I just didn't think that cooking was among them." Her stomach growled again, derailing her train of thought. "Anyway, why are you making Mabo Curry for breakfast?"

Alvin laughed. "Well Miss Sleeping Beauty, you missed breakfast. It's already one o'clock in the afternoon."

Her face went pale. "I-I-I slept for that long!?" she stammered, "Why didn't you wake me!"

He shrugged as he pulled out two plates and began dividing the mabo curry amongst them. "To be honest, the soldiers weren't exactly rearing to go, and you were exhausted. I decided it would be better to lose some time rather than risk our lives or the lives of the passengers unnecessarily. What good would it do to try to protect the passengers if we aren't strong enough to defend ourselves, know what I mean?"

She began shoveling the curry into her mouth, pausing in between bites to speak. "But the passengers have been stranded for almost three days now, what if they have been attacked? That Veywind Eye almost killed these _highly trained soldiers_. The passengers are unarmed and wouldn't stand a chance against monsters of that magnitude."

He shook his head. "Don't worry, I sent Sylph to check up on them this morning." He paused for a moment to swallow another bite of curry. "Milla and Jude left them well protected; Efreet, Undine, and Gnome are all there defending them until we arrive."

Leia sighed in relief. _Finally, some good news. _She diverted her attention back to the food before her; she would need her strength back so she could tend to the wounded passengers, if there were any.

Alvin watched in amusement as she gobbled down the remainder of her curry. They weren't too far from the crash site; he was more concerned about the journey back to Fenmont. If they encountered another monster of greater or equal caliber to that of the Veywind Eye they met yesterday, he wasn't sure they would be able to contend with it and protect the civilians at the same time. Regardless, the next few days would be trying to say the least.

After finishing his meal, Alvin hoisted himself off the ground and put out the fire. "Come on, it's time we got a move on. I think our troops have been lazy long enough."

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An hour and a half later, the crash site came into view. Leia gasped at the sight of the mangled train which was strewn across the side of the cliff. Though it had been a number of days since the incident had occurred, the wreckage looked as fresh as if it had happened only moments ago. She couldn't see any signs of the train passengers from their vantage point, but she doubted that the four would have been that careless to begin with. She looked over at Alvin, who appeared just as shocked as she was.

"Well, I guess we should commence the search." she stated, just as much to reassure herself as those around her. "Sylph, do you know where they are hiding?"

Sylph nodded; completely unfazed by the grotesquery before them. "They will be near the base of the cliff. A word of warning though; there could be monsters in the wreckage, and there most definitely will be elemental traps placed by Efreet and Gnome. They wouldn't risk monsters reaching the civilians, even if they could defeat them with relative ease."

A chill went down Leia's spine. "Great… Monsters and traps huh? This mission is just full of fun surprises."

A grimace graced Alvin's features. "Sylph, won't you be able to detect these traps? Or even remove them all together? You are one of the Four after all."

Sylph looked at them quizzically. "Detect them? Yes. Remove them? No. I only have control over my own elemental domain, so Efreet's or Gnome's enchantments are beyond my ability to affect." He floated to the front of the party. "I will lead you on the safest path through the wreckage, but we will undoubtedly encounter such incantations, and it will be up to you to find ways to deal with them."

Leia frowned. "What do you mean by 'deal with them'? Are they some kind of puzzle?"

Sylph nodded. "In a manner of speaking, yes. Some of them will be simple traps designed to imprison or destroy those who activate them, while others will be mere barriers designed to keep monsters at bay. All of these enchantments will have a 'kill switch' so to speak, meaning we can disable them if proper conditions are met."

Alvin readied his pistol. "Well, I think we have kept them waiting long enough. Let's get a move on shall we?"

Sylph nodded and led them across the tracks to a train car that was leaning precariously over the edge of the cliff. Leia peeked over the ledge at what lay below, and noticed that there was a rocky ledge just below them, and that there were a total of three such ledges spanning the distance between them and the ground below.

Without warning, Sylph struck the stray train car with a wind blade, causing it to pitch backwards and hit the ledge below with a loud crash. _Ah, now I understand. _Now she could see that Sylph wanted them to utilize the train car as a sort of ladder to descend to the next level. Alvin obviously came to the same conclusion and struck the car with his boot. Once he was satisfied that the car wouldn't give out beneath them, he began climbing down, using the seats in the compartment like rungs of a ladder. Leia followed close behind him, and one by one their band of rescuers descended.

Once they were all safely out of the train car, they began to search for their next method of descent. As Leia was surveying the ledge below them, one of the men noticed a tangle of vines on the cliff face approximately thirty meters to the right. Before they could reach it however, a channeling circle opened up in the air adjacent to the cliff and launched a barrage of fireballs at their location. Some of the men found cover behind some boulders while others had to throw up guardian shields. Alvin leapt in front of Leia and put up his guardian field. After a few moments it was clear that the barrage wasn't going to stop of its own accord. _This must be one of those traps Sylph warned us about. _She strained her mind, trying to come up with a plan to stop the flaming onslaught. _It might just work… but it's a long shot. _She wasn't sure how much longer their guardian shields could hold out, so she began casting as quickly as she could. "Gather the spirits' strength…" She focused her mana and funneled it towards her target "Elemental Impulse!"

At that moment, Alvin's pistol began to emit a sapphire glow. When Alvin realized what she was getting at, he dropped his magical barrier and aimed his pistol straight at the inferno. She held her breath, if this didn't work, they were about to take another barrage of fireballs straight to the face.

The sound of the pistol shot echoed across the landscape. The water-infused bullet struck the incantation dead center, and a moment later a vortex of mana sucked it out of existence. Leia let out a sigh of relief.

"That was some quick thinking kid." Alvin turned to her with a smile. "How did you know that would work?"

She shrugged. "I didn't, but it was the only plan I came up with."

Alvin was taken aback. "Wait, so you gambled!? And with _my_ life no less? I thought that I was off the 'expendable' list."

Leia's crossed her arms, rather flustered by his accusation. "It wasn't like that! I would have been burnt just as badly if it didn't work!"

Alvin dropped his charade and let out a chuckle. "I know. I just wanted to hear you say it. Besides, I have to have a little fun here and there right?"

She let out a 'humph' and turned her back to him. She hated it when he joked around like that, deliberately trying to push her buttons.

Before he could say anything further, Sylph floated up beside them. "Sorry about that, I wasn't aware of that trap until it was too late. It won't happen again."

Over the course of an hour, the party descended through the next two ledges and reached the base of the cliff. Along the way, they encountered an Earth arte, which attempted to trap them within a stone prison, and another Fire arte, which manifested itself as a wall of flame that blocked their path. They dealt with these incantations with wind and water artes respectively.

Before them, Leia estimated twenty train cars were scattered across the rocky terrain. _It must have been terrifying to be on this train when it went over. _In the distance they could see a stone dome, which must have been summoned by Gnome.

"I take it they are in there?" Alvin asked, gesturing towards the structure.

Sylph nodded an affirmative. "Here the train wreckage acts like a type of maze, so I'll lead you through the quickest path to the dome. There are still plenty of surprises waiting for us in there, so I would advise caution."

Leia and Alvin both nodded and followed Sylph inside. While they walked, Leia whispered to Alvin. "Hey… What's our plan for getting back up the cliff? It will take a long time to climb with dozens of civilians, especially if any of them are injured."

Alvin grimaced; clearly he had reached the same conclusion. "I'm not sure, the four may be able to assist us with that once they are all together, but honestly a straight climb might be our only option."

She was about to ask another question, when Sylph stopped in his tracks. "What is it Sylph?" She asked worriedly.

"There is another trap just ahead." He said, gesturing towards the gap between two train cars just ahead of them. "It appears to be one of Gnome's stalagmite traps; it will likely be slightly harder to remove than the previous incantations we have encountered."

Leia didn't like the sound of that. This 'rescue' mission had already taken far longer than originally intended. They were getting closer however, she could feel it. Or rather, she could feel _them_. The mana signatures of at least three dozen people could be felt just a ways ahead of them. But then there was something else… another mana signature outside the structure, not too far off in fact… _Could that be one of the train passengers? What are they doing in the wreckage?_

"Hey, you alright?"

Leia's attention snapped back to reality to see Alvin standing before her with a somewhat concerned look on his face.

"Oh, I'm fine. I just need to go check on something; I felt a mana signature just a little ways off, it might be one of the train passengers."

Alvin nodded hesitantly, "Alright, just don't go too far, wouldn't want you wandering into one of those traps by yourself."

She winked at him. "Don't worry, I'll be careful."

Alvin watched her walk off before turning his attention back to his men, who were already beginning to examine the spell circle that lay before them.

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Leia turned a corner, than another, and another. _I know it was here somewhere. _She reached out with her mind again; she could sense the mana signature was directly ahead now. At this distance however, she could tell that the mana signature of whoever was ahead was far more radiant than anyone she had met, and even stranger than that of the Great Spirits. _Who could it be? _She could tell that it wasn't a monster, but it still baffled her to think that it could be a person.

She rounded one final corner and found herself looking at a giant barrier of energy, similar in appearance to the guardian shields that they used to block unfriendly artes. Standing before the incantation, was a white haired boy. She estimated that he was about twenty-three years old, judging by his stature, and about four inches taller than her. She couldn't see his face from this angle, but he seemed to be eyeing the shield intently.

"Hi there." she said as she cautiously approached him. "What are you doing way out here?"

The boy didn't turn to face her, and continued to gaze at the barrier of mana before him. She had originally guessed that he was attempting to breach the barrier in order to return to the others within the dome, but now she could see that he was simply _studying _it.

"How long have you been here?" she asked again, hoping to get some type of response from him. She had made her way to his left side now, and she was surprised by what she saw. Despite his young age, the boy looked as if he had seen many battles. Partially hidden beneath a few white bangs, a black eye-patch covered his left eye socket and a deep scar ran down his right cheek. And when the boy finally turned his head to acknowledge her presence, she could see that his eye color was a bright crimson. But the strangest thing about him was his ears…

"Where did you get ears like that?" she blurted, immediately regretting her bluntness. She had never seen anyone with pointed ears before.

The boy scowled, clearly offended by her remark. "Where did you get yours? I was born with them obviously." He returned his gaze to the barrier.

"Sorry, that was a dumb question. I've just never seen anyone with ears like that before." She replied, hanging her head shamefully.

He let out a huff, as if to say 'clearly'. It quickly became apparent that he had no desire to continue their conversation, so she got straight to the point. "So, were you a passenger on the train?"

He remained silent for a moment longer, as if contemplating the proper response. "Yes, I was here when the incident occurred."

The way he worded his response sent a shiver down Leia's spine, but she dismissed it. Besides, he hadn't shown any signs of aggression towards her yet.

She was about to ask him why he was so interested in the mana shield, when his ears perked up slightly and his muscles tensed. She looked around in alarm, searching for the cause of his anxiety. _He isn't about to attack me is he?_

"Get down." He whispered.

Still unsure what was happening, Leia reluctantly hid behind one of the piles of debris to her left. Not a moment after she concealed herself, three armored boar came hurtling around a corner behind them. _He heard them coming!?_

The first of the monsters let out a roar and ran straight at the boy, whom had still not moved a muscle. _What is he doing? _She thought about calling out to him, but held her tongue. He had told her to hide for a reason, so she would wait and see what he had planned.

At the last possible moment, when the armored plating of the beast was centimeters from his body, the boy propelled himself skyward and landed in a crouch behind the creature. Unable to stop its momentum, the boar collided with the barrier and disintegrated. Leia's mouth dropped open in awe. _How is he so fast?_

The second monster was already moving, angling its armored skull to inflict maximum damage on its target. The boy reacted with a quick, backwards somersault and spun around, maintaining his crouching position. Outstretching his right arm, palm forward, he braced himself for the creature's impact. Leia cringed at the thought, surely his arm would snap under the force of the approaching creature.

Much to her amazement, it did not. The boar struck his hand with a load crack, and began straining itself against the boy's grip. She saw his crimson eyes begin to glow faintly as she felt him call upon mana, followed by an outward explosion that propelled the beast into a train car some distance away. _How did he use an arte like that without speaking? _During all her adventures, she had never seen someone cast an arte without muttering a spell.

She looked around for signs of the third monster, but didn't see it anywhere. _It must have been scared off, _she thought to herself.

She was about to vacate her hiding place, when he held up a hand and shook his head. She stopped in her tracks, rather puzzled.

The ground began to quake, and cracks formed beneath the boy's feet. He leapt up into the air as the boar lurched out of the ground, sending rocks and dirt flying in every direction. Mid-air, the boy let loose another fire arte that immediately incinerated the monster. Leia recognized the arte as 'Phoenix Plunge' from seeing Jude perform it countless times.

The boy landed lightly on his feet, and scanned the battlefield for any remaining monsters. Once he was sure there were none, he signaled Leia to come out of hiding.

She ran up to him. "That was amazing! How did you manage to use artes like that without verbalizing them?" She could see that his breathing wasn't accelerated in the slightest, as if he hadn't fought a battle at all.

He shrugged, "Once you have enough practice with an arte, verbal cues become unnecessary. Only artes that demand high amounts of mana require them." He turned and began to walk away.

"Hey wait! Where are you going?" She asked, rather bewildered.

He looked at her quizzically. "Home. What does it matter?"

She almost asked him to come with them, but thought better of it. He clearly didn't need their protection, and his solitary attitude made her doubt he would enjoy the company of the group. "Well, what's your name at least?"

He seemed surprised that she would want to know his name, and hesitated before responding. "You can call me… Mal."

She stared after him as he walked out of view. _Mal… _It was a very odd name, but he was an odd individual. She assumed it was a nickname of sorts, probably short for 'Malcom' or something. She turned back to look at the mana barrier. _Why was he here? Why was this barrier so interesting to him?_

Amidst her thoughts, she heard Alvin call her name.

"Leia!" he said as he walked up beside her. "We disarmed the stalagmite trap… Good god, what did you do?"

She looked around at the scorched battlefield before her. "Uh, yeah, that wasn't me. I ran into a strange boy by the name of Mal here. While we were talking, we were attacked by three armored boar and Mal took care of them."

Alvin looked at her, rather puzzled. "Hmm, well we had better get back to the group; I'd say it's about time we escort the passengers back to Fenmont."

She nodded and glanced back towards the shield before following Alvin back to Sylph and the others.


End file.
